Your Pet Loss Stories

'My Last Day With Holly'

by Debbie
(Hunt Valley, MD)

I found this site today. Tonight is the last night I have with my beautiful golden retriever Holly. We are in front of the fire keeping warm, and I am just watching her and soaking in as much of her as I can.

Holly just turned 7 on November 2nd and is dying of cancer. She had her spleen removed October 1st. It was full of tumors and now the cancer has rapidly spread through her body. Her energy, muscle strength and appetite loss has deteriorated the last couple days.

One day you think she is dying in front of your eyes, and the next she is sitting in front of you with a ball in her mouth. Today....she has no interest in the balls she so dearly loves, doesn't move from the spot where she is laying down, and the mere task of lifting her head seems too much for her to bear. She is not in pain, she is tired and weak, and can't do the things she loves anymore.

Tonight I say my goodbyes, hold her as long as I can, cry until the tears finally stop and then in the morning take her to the vet to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge. I believe there is an afterlife for these wonderful creatures that bring such joy and unconditional love into our lives.

They know from the start how to love, how to forgive, how to always say hello, to be happy just to be with you, and to only need the simple basics in life.....it takes humans decades to learn what our pets already know and show us every day.

I will miss her so much. She was too young to get this horrible disease. It will be a long, lonely winter without her sitting alone in front of a fire that she so much loved and enjoyed.